Skills Training for Disadvantaged Women and Castes Project - Nepal

Source: Asian Development Bank

Around 80,000 poor and disadvantaged Nepalese will be given access to short-term vocational and technical skills training through an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan approved for US$20 million.

The project has three components: increasing access to skills training, strengthening capacity, and supporting policy development and implementation.

It will provide subsidized market-oriented skills training to help particularly women and low caste Dalits broaden their opportunities and enhance their competitiveness in the national and international job markets.

Community-based training will be available for the less educated and those living in remote areas. The courses will be short term, thus making them accessible to more trainees.

Nepal is the world's 12th poorest country, with an annual per capita of $241, the lowest in the South Asian region. About 38% of its 23.2 million population live in poverty. The country's economy is still predominantly based on agriculture, which is heavily dependent on the monsoon.

"Nepal's slow growth in recent years, high unemployment rate, and large proportion of the population living below the poverty line call for measures to increase the potential for jobs and income generation," says Leah Gutierrez, an ADB Senior Social Sector Specialist.

"At least half of those to receive training will be women, while one quarter will be from among the Dalits."

Without a strong private sector to employ Nepal's 200,000 new, mostly unskilled workers entering the labor force every year, many Nepalese must become either self-employed or work as unpaid family workers. Further, an estimated 1 million Nepalese are working abroad, with 105,000 leaving the country in 2001/2002. However, one study shows that the majority of migrant workers have not even completed their basic education.

The loan will strengthen key government agencies involved in technical education and vocational training, with courses to be geared towards skills that are in great demand in the international labor markets, including those that would employ more women. Employers, employment agencies, and relevant government agencies will jointly identify the areas of training demand.

Due to Nepal's conflict situation and complex social structure, the project will take a phased approach. In the first year, training will be initiated in five districts: Achham, Dhanusha, Humla, Kapilbastu, and Panchthar. Following assessment of project experience, five more districts will be added in the second year.

The total cost of the project is $25 million, of which the Government will contribute $5 million equivalent.

ADB's loan comes from its concessional Asian Development Fund, with a 32-year term, including a grace period of eight years. Interest is 1% per year during the grace period and 1.5% per year for the rest of the term.

Nepal's Ministry of Education and Sports is the executing agency of the project, which is expected to be completed around September 2010.

ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific regionn through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 63 members - 45 from the region. In 2003, it approved loans and technical assistance amounting to US$6.1 billion and US$177 million, respectively.

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